Paris 2024 Paralympics | Goalball, Wheelchair basketball, Wheelchair rugby, Sitting volleyball: the team sports results for Thursday 29 August
On this first day of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, team sports were in the spotlight, with Goalball, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby and Sitting Volleyball taking centre stage. Here's a round-up of the results.
Wheelchair basketball
Men
In Group A, with the French men's team playing their first game against Canada on Friday, Great Britain got off to a good start by beating Germany 76-55.
In Group B, the United States had to work hard to overcome Spain 66-56 whereas Netherlands beat Australia 66-55.
Women
The British women got their Paris 2024 Paralympic Games off to the best possible start with an easy 69-34 win over Spain in Group A. While the Group B games will not be played until Friday, the other game in Pool A saw China beat Canada 70-65.
Goalball
Women
A complicated start to the tournament for two-time defending champions Turkey! Paralympic champions at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Sevda Altunoluk's team-mates drew 3-3 with the Brazilians in their first match.
In the other group, the French women's team were no match for the Canadians, who were beaten 10-0. The all-Asian duel in the second match in Group D went the way of the Japanese, who beat the Koreans 3-1.
Men
It was another difficult start for the French men's team. Up against defending champions Brazil, the Tricolores held out for a long time, trailing 5-4 at half-time. The final result was an 8-5 defeat, but with high hopes for the future, as the United States and Iran begin their tournament this Friday.
In Group B, China overcame Japan 7-6, while Ukraine dominated Egypt 6-3.
Wheelchair rugby
The mixed wheelchair rugby tournament also got underway on Thursday with four matches. First, in Pool A, the United States beat Canada 51-48 with 21 tries from Chuck Aoki, while Japan beat Germany 55-44.
The Arena Champ-de-Mars was also the venue for the Group B matches, with Great Britain beating Australia 58-55 despite 36 tries from Ryley Batt. Lastly, the French hosts won 53-51 against Denmark, thanks in particular to 29 tries from Jonathan Hivernat.
Sitting volleyball
Men
At the Arena Paris Nord in Villepinte, seated volleyball was also experiencing its first matches of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. In Pool A, France could do nothing against Kazakhstan, who came out on top 3-0 (25-7, 25-20, 25-7) on the night. Before that, Bosnia-Herzegovina had beaten Egypt 3-1.
Women
On the women's side, Pool B saw two one-sided matches: at midday, Brazil dominated Rwanda 3-0, and late in the afternoon, Slovenia lost 3-0 to Canada.